Laboratory for International Alliance

Laboratory HeadMing Ta Michael LEE (Ph.D.)

Developing personalized medicine for all through research cooperation and international recruitment of young researchers

As part of the international HapMap Project, the Center for Genomic Medicine laid the groundwork for SNP research by constructing Haplotype maps for Caucasians, Asians and Africans, an this work suggested that the Haplotype patterns of Japanese are similar to those of other Asians. Since one of the center’s overall goals is to provide better medical care and improve health in Asia, this similarity will be useful for SNP research in Asian populations. By conducting comparative studies, it will be possible to illuminate ethnic similarities or differences in pathophysiological mechanisms of diseases and drug responses among patients.

The Laboratory for International Alliance supports SNP-based research using the center’s technologies and knowledge in areas where SNP-based research for disease genes is not well developed. We actively recruit young scientists from overseas to work at RIKEN and carry out research in SNP-based approach, statistical analysis and biological analysis. Our long-term goal is to establish an international SNP research network that will make the Center for Genomic Medicine a world leader in personalized medicine. We have already initiated four projects as part of these efforts: a study of the genes related to skin rashes induced by Nevirapine, one of the HIV drugs (joint project with TCEL and Mahidol University, Thailand), a study of genes related to Leber’s disease (Mahidol University, Thailand), a study of susceptibility genes for nasopharyngeal cancer (Malaya University, Malaysia), and a study of genes associated with susceptibilities for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (Medical University of Sofia, Bulgaria).